A high-speed chase involving the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) ended dramatically last Friday morning when a car slammed into an Avis rental building in downtown Atlanta. FOX 5 Atlanta reported the incident began just after 3:30 a.m. with troopers attempting to stop a 2012 Audi sedan that was clocked doing 85 mph in a 55 mph zone on Interstate 85 southbound. The chase continued into city streets where the driver took an exit onto Courtland Street, ultimately crashing into the Avis establishment in the 100 block of Courtland Street.
The car, in its reckless flight from pursuit, narrowly missed striking four people and two pets who were sleeping on the sidewalk. As indicted by 11Alive, two of the unhoused individuals at the scene stated that the car barely avoided hitting them, their friends, and their pets—a dog and a lizard—and described how the vehicle wreaked havoc on the building's facade.
Following the crash, the driver fled the scene on foot but was later apprehended with the aid of an off-duty trooper who was working a second job in the vicinity. Both the trooper and the driver were injured during the incident but are expected to recover, as per statements of GSP officials. The vehicle was removed yet the building sustained a large hole and visible damage featuring shattered glass and twisted metal dispersed across the scene.
After the arrest, one of the troopers involved offered an apology to the individuals endangered during the pursuit, "the trooper apologized to them as he exited his car," as recounted by the witnesses in an interview with 11Alive. In light of the extensive damage, an employee from Avis predicted that the location might be closed for the some days for repairs.
Authorities have yet to release the name of the driver involved and indicated that charges are pending. The full extent of the repercussions following this dangerous chase remains to be seen as both investigations by law enforcement and repairs to the Avis building proceed.
